PREMiERdrum

SIX's family-focused vision didn't bankrupt them, their massive debtload did. It's a silly comparison. I appreciated the lookback at Cedar Points illfated "Fast Lane" queue system. Goodness, what a cluster that Summer way!

I'm looking forward to my daughter (who turns 2 in March) being able to do much more in the park this Summer. Of course, by the time Haunt rolls around, we'll have another little one to be taking along (we're due September 4th)!

This one quote is enough for me to know he "gets" it. They aren't selling widgets, they're selling an experience. That experience can't turn sour as soon as you give your money at the gate. I hate to sound contrived, but "charm" and "nostalgia" keep popping up in my head. It's all in the details, and that's where his Glendale experience will pay off in spades.

My thoughts... The prices are a bit high, but that blow is softened knowing the money goes directly to the zoo's conservation efforts. The pricing is per tour, not participant, so six friends could do the Koala tour for $67/each (provided one's a member of the zoo), which is quite reasonable for the experience. I think we'll be looking into doing this with Avery next offseason (they're only offered during the offseason), as she has a crazy love of animals.

http://www.colszoo.o...rs/default.aspx The more affordable, "Wild Encounters" Tours: See the Zoo the way the keepers do! Take a guided tour behind the scenes for a closer look at one of the animal areas listed below. These exciting tours are not to be missed! Discovery Reef You’ve seen it from the front, now come see our 90,000 gallon Aquarium from behind and above! You’ll be amazed to hear about and see all of the hard work that goes into running our own little ocean! Dr. C. Joseph Cross Animal Health Center What do you do when a tiger has a toothache? When a snake has the sniffles? Take a tour of our state-of-the-art veterinary facility, and see how the Zoo is prepared to care for species of every size. Times and Dates: Winter: Tours are offered daily from November 21-March 30 and must be purchased 2 weeks in advance. 11:30 Animal Health Center 3:00 Discovery Reef Cost: Members: $15 Non-Members: $20 And the more expensive ($300-$450 per tour, not person), unique, hands-on tours: JACK HANNA'S JUNGLE Get up close and personal with celebrities that have made Jack famous on David Letterman, GMA, Ellen, Larry King Live, etc. You may encounter penguins, cheetahs, flamingoes, a python, parrots and so much more. ** Tour for a minimum of two people and a maximum of 10. There is no age limit for this tour; however, limited interaction may occur with younger adults. Tour price: $450 per tour for non-Zoo members and $400 per tour for Zoo members Tour schedule: Two hours total at the Zoo. Includes 45 minute orientation and travel to area plus one hour in the animal area. Available times: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. or 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily Jan. 2 through March 17. DIVE IN DISCOVERY REEF Do an actual dive and assist the keeper in feeding more than 65 species of fish and five species of sharks in a 100,000 gallon saltwater environment. ** Tour is for one person. Must be 18 years or older and be a certified diver. Tour price: $350 per tour for non-Zoo members and $300 per tour for Zoo members Required equipment: Must bring a diving mask and boots. The Zoo will provide all additional gear. Tour schedule: Three hours total at the Zoo. Includes 45 minute orientation and travel to area, one hour diving orientation and one hour in the animal area. Available times: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday Nov 18 through Dec 30; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily Jan. 2 through March 17. KARE FOR KOALAS Learn the many different types of Eucalyptus we feed the koalas and work side-by-side with the keeper assisting in feeding, cleaning the exhibit and weighing these marsupials. **Tour for a minimum of two people and a maximum of six. This tour is available for guests two years and older. Tour price: $450 per tour for non-Zoo members and $400 per tour for Zoo members Tour schedule: Two hours total at the Zoo. Includes 45 minute orientation and travel to area plus one hour in the animal area. Available times: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily Nov 18 through March 17. BONKERS FOR BECO Get up-close and personal with our Asian elephants for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Learn about the intimate relationship between a mother, Phoebe and her calf, Beco. **Tour for a minimum of two people and a maximum of 10. There is no age limit for this tour. Tour price: $450 per tour for non-Zoo members and $400 per tour for Zoo members Tour schedule: Two hours total at the Zoo. Includes 45 minute orientation and travel to area plus one hour in the animal area. Available times: 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. daily Nov 18 through March 17. TIGER TRAINING Observe a one on one training session with a keeper and tiger designed to capture behaviors for husbandry and medical procedures. ** Tour is for one person. Must be 18 years or older. Tour price: $350 per tour for non-Zoo members and $300 per tour for Zoo members Tour schedule: One and a half hours total at the Zoo. Includes 45 minute orientation and travel to area plus 45 minutes in the animal area. Available times: 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily Nov 18 through March 17. A nice feature video and article on the "Kare for Koalas" tour by the Columbus Dispatch... Continued at http://www.dispatch....s-up-close.html

The fact that he regularly (in this and other interviews) interchanges "Cedar Point" and "Cedar Fair" is quite telling. I think Mr. Kinzel was undoubtedly the right man for the time, but tried to hang onto that time about 10 years too long.

Another excellent job! While the mature trees of 2011 do more for guest comfort, I have a hard time not picking the properly scaled, polished, and detailed scene from 1974. The charming patio umbrellas, unique merchandise in the shop windows, and the more convincing streetscape are all wonderful, from a design perspective.

Waveswinger!

Appears that way, the stacked stone column and wood beam give it away. I'm absolutely loving this series!

A standing ovation for standbyme on this one. I've been enjoying this series, and they just keep getting better!

It's nice to see SeaWorld planning a "Potter Swatter" of their own... The new Antarctica region looks incredible, and finally deals with the last "outdated" area of the park. What's interesting, to me, is to see the vastly different approach being taken with the different SeaWorld parks.

Not to defend the obviously incompetency of the park in some respects, but since dolphins typically live to about 30- or 40-years in captivity, and these shows reached their highest popularity in the '70s and '80s, many of these animals could have died from old age.

What, no cattle prods?

Nap time at the Gorilla building Proud of her candy collection.. The manatees enjoyed pumpkins, as did several other animals

'Tis the season for pumpkins, cider, and begging strangers for candy. Sure, sending your kids door-to-door to ask for free treats can be a little discomforting, but it's a time honored tradition and loads of fun for the little one. We packed up our little one, Avery, and headed to the Columbus Zoo on Saturday for their first (of two) weekend of Boo! at the Zoo. Believe it or not, even as zoo members, this was our first time at this particular event, and I couldn't have been more taken back with how well done it was. First, this isn't an upcharge: Pay your normal $12 (adult) admission for the zoo and the rest is included. You're handed an event-specific map which notates special candy stops (about 30 of them around the park!), seasonal concession offerings (s'mores, candy / carmel apples, cider, etc), and special entertainment offerings (several new stage shows, roaming characters, parade, etc). The map also lists the special "Boo at the Zoo" animal enrichment times and keeper talks. There were events around the zoo about every half hour, like pumpkins being given to the animals (which is hilarious to watch, including brown bears, polar bears, manatees, gorillas, arctic fox, etc). The roaming characters, from Otterbein University's theater department, brought a nice dose of period streetmosphere to the park. Several other live entertainment offerings were available, including a Marvel-licensed Superhero stage show, storytime with Princesses, and the zoo's awesome "Animals on Safari" stage show. While the event is billed as "merry, not scary", the zoo's train ride in the North America region is transformed after dark into a "Sleepy Hollow" themed experience, utilizing live actors, fog, and theatrical lighting. So, here's how it works: The 30 or so treat stations are spread out throughout the entire park, each sponsored by a different business and handing out free candy (generous handfulls, while we were there at least), as well as different things for their business (dentist giving parents gift cards for free whitening, etc). We didn't hit all the stations, and Avery still came away with tons of candy (we had to empty her bucket 2 or 3 times). Beyond the event-specific activities, there's still a world class (#1 in the country, they say) zoo to explore. The animals were all very active (a beautiful day, sunny and in the high 50's), and we didn't notice a single "no show." All the animals were out and having fun. Some animal highlights: one of the pods in the indoor gorilla exhibit had 3 apes in it sound asleep, while Coco (first gorilla born in captivity, now a great grandmother!) was in her pod enjoying a pumpkin. One of the lion cubs born a few years ago was being "weaned" away from his parents, being put in the second lion yard for 4 hours each day. There was a docent there to explain this, as the cat seemed very agitated and was pacing the yard's perimiter. We got to see Bodhi the male Asian Elephant one last time, he was the first elephant calf born at the zoo but is now going to Denver's Zoo to breed. Boo at the Zoo continues next weekend from 10AM to 9PM (unusually late hours for the zoo outside of the Christmastime Wildlight's event), with Jungle Jack's Landing and Animal Encounters Village open as well. All day ride wristbands are available for only $5, which is a steal considering the lineup of rides and non-existent lines. I seriously, completely recommend anyone with kids try to make this event next weekend. The themeing, the atmosphere, and the animals create quite a unique offering and you won't regret it. Remember that all-encompassing, enveloping, escapist feeling you got at Kings Island as a kid? You can still get it, just a hour and a half north. Onto the pics: Getting ready to head in! (We had just put her costume on in the parking lot, coming straight from her gymnastics class) The lineup of Treat Stations in Jungle Jack's Landing The scale of this pirate ship was impressive, especially considering it's just a decoration! This is NOT one of the Leopards seized from the farm in Zanesville, those animals are in the zoo's animal hospital

The Columbus Zoo is currently housing the 3 leopards (a baby and breeding pair), a juvenile grizzly, and 2 macaques (monkeys). These are all under quarantine in a special area of the zoo's hospital. The zoo currently doesn't house any other macaques, but other zoos have reached out to house these animals once healthy. The zoo does have a pair of leopards in their African Forest region. They have also been long planning to begin a program to take in abandoned juvenile bears in their 3 large bear yards in the North America region. I wouldn't be surprised, so long as he's healthy, if they bear stayed.

It's been crazy. I've spent 19 of the last 24 hours here at the assignment desk, and in my 7 years in the news business I've never had to deal with anything like this. I was chatting with Cory for a while last night about it, but it's completely surreal to have to remind your crews in the field to watch out for bears and big cats. Mr. Thompson knew he was facing more jailtime, he was in the process of separating from his wife, and knew that the state would likely be taking his animals soon. He was desperate and not thinking clearly, but probably couldn't imagine living without his wife or his animals.

Unfortunately, there isn't much motivation at the park level to preserve things like this. We've seen some nice things tucked away for preservation's sake, but these figures are being put to good use this way. If the park were to sell them off, the money would most certainly make its way up to an Ivory Tower in Sandusky, never to be seen again.

I echo everybody's condolences, and your family will certainly be in my prayers. That said, quality photos of Jungle Larry's are pretty rare. These were great to see! Thank you so much for sharing.

He's here all week, folks! Don't forget to tip your servers.

Look like SeaWorld has been working on their own "PotterSwatter" of sorts. The Penguin Encounter area is screaming for a total do-over, with an aesthetic straight out of the '80s.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-seaworld-expansion-20111007,0,5746603.story

Here is our Hall Of Fame / Smoking Area. Hold your breath and enjoy!